Alice shrugged. ‘I just don’t, that’s all.’
Jim sensed an underlying atmosphere. ‘That’s OK, Alice.’ He smiled. ‘You’re allowed to change your mind.’ Though, like Liz, he thought Alice was being unusually picky, for some reason.
By the time Maureen arrived, Jim and Liz were all dressed up and raring to meet up with their friends at the local pub, which was just a ten-minute walk from the house.
Liz wore her new red dress, while Jim looked every inch the sportsman in his dark trousers and black blazer with the darts club badge on the pocket.
‘You’re dressed a bit severe for a pint and a game of darts, aren’t you?’ Liz joked.
‘No, I am not! I intend for our team to win,’ he declared, ‘so I thought I’d put on the gear.’
He did a twirl on the spot and was dead pleased when Adam told him proudly, ‘You look really good.’
‘Thank you, Adam. So, what do you think, Alice? Do you agree with Mummy, or do you agree with Adam?’
‘I agree with Mummy.’ There was no way she was about to agree with Adam.
‘Well, I’m afraid you women are wrong.’ Jim placed a kiss on the top of her head. ‘To be a winner, you have to look the part, and I think I do. So this time, the men have it!’
After going through the usual check list with Maureen, Jim and Liz started off up the street, with Alice waving them off at the door.
‘Have a good time,’ she called.
‘We will!’ Liz called back.
‘And don’t be late, will you?’ Alice reminded them.
‘We won’t.’ Jim replied, and he had an instruction of his own: ‘Alice! Go back inside and lock the door.’ He waited for Alice to do as she was bid.
He thought it amusing how Alice had seen them off, so concerned and caring. ‘When did it swing the other way?’ he asked Liz.
‘What d’you mean?’
Jim gave a whimsical little smile. ‘Alice, just now. She’s nine years old, and there she was, standing at the door, telling us to have a good time and not to be late home.’
Liz agreed. ‘You’re right. It’s like we’re the kids and Alice is the concerned parent.’
‘She’s always been like a little woman, though,’ Jim said. ‘Always so fussy and protective of her family.’
Liz laughed out loud. ‘She’s always been a little bossy boots!’
‘Well, there you are. Now then, will you please stop creating things to worry about. We have a wonderful baby, a bossy young daughter, with an old head on her shoulders, a fine son, who fits into our family like a hand in a glove, and a dog called Buster, who rules the roost.’
Greatly reassured by his wise words, Liz gave him a quick kiss on the mouth. From now on, instead of looking for things to be anxious about, she would remind herself of how fortunate they were.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
FOR THE BEST part of an hour, Maureen and the children played on the mat with big coloured balls. It was really a game for baby Harriet, who, with screeches of laughter, rolled the balls haphazardly back and forth to the others, while Buster the dog looked on, too lazy to get up and play along.
‘Where’s Adam?’ Maureen asked. ‘I haven’t seen him since your parents went out.’
Alice simply shrugged her shoulders, as she often did to avoid answering a particular question.
Maureen was concerned. ‘Alice, can you keep an eye on Harriet for just a minute,’ she asked, ‘while I go and see if he’s upstairs?’
Scrambling to her feet, she collected Harriet and placed her in the baby pen, but as she went to leave the room Alice called out, ‘He’s not upstairs.’
‘So, where is he then?’
‘He’s in the shed. He asked Daddy if he could paint the little cart, and Daddy said yes.’ A deep frown betrayed her disapproval.
A few minutes later, Maureen found Adam busy in the garden shed. ‘Hi, Adam. I thought I’d come and see if you were OK.’
‘Hi, Maureen. Look, what do you think?’ He proudly pointed to the cart, all wet and shiny in its brand-new coat of dark stain.
‘Great! Looks like you’re doing a good job.’
‘Did you want me for anything special?’ Adam asked.
‘No. I just wondered where you were, that’s all.’
‘Oh, I’m sorry. I should have told you, but I just wanted to come straight in here and get on with it. I’d like to fnish it before they come back. I’m hoping it’ll be a nice surprise.’
‘I’m sure it will.’ Maureen excused herself. ‘Now I know you’re all right, I’d best go and sort the girls out.’
‘Call if you need me for anything.’
‘Thanks.’ Maureen did not intend taking him up on his offer of help. She had always seen herself as more than capable.
An hour later, with Harriet still happily playing in her pen, Alice was in the kitchen looking out the window at Adam, who she could see through the open shed door was putting the last few strokes to the little cart.
When he stood back to check that he had covered it thoroughly, Alice dodged back, not wanting to be seen.
Suddenly Maureen called out, startling her, ‘Alice, are you in the kitchen?’
‘Yes.’
‘You’re not touching the kettle or anything, are you?’
‘No!’
‘So, what are you doing?’
‘Just having a drink of lemonade.’
‘Oh, you wouldn’t fetch me one, would you, please?’
‘OK.’
Carrying the glass of lemonade, Alice found Maureen stretched out on the sofa, her head buried in Adam’s Beano comic.
Maureen sat up to take the glass of lemonade. ‘Thanks, you’re a darling.’
Throwing the Beano aside, she asked Alice, ‘Do you want to play that new Donkey card game?’
‘No, it’s boring. Mum says I need to tidy my toy box, so I’m going upstairs now.’
‘All right then. See you in a while.’
She watched Alice leave. ‘Don’t go lifting anything heavy,’ Maureen advised her. ‘If you need any help, just shout down.’
Five minutes after Alice had gone upstairs, Maureen heard the back door open and shut. ‘Is that you, Adam?’
‘Yeah. I’ve finished painting the cart. I’m just about to wash my hands.’
‘Make sure you don’t tread any paint into the house, or I’ll get the blame!’
Taking her advice, Adam retraced his steps to the back door on tiptoe and slipped his shoes off on the mat; Maureen was none the wiser.
She did, however, pop into the kitchen to return her empty glass. ‘Alice is cleaning out her toy box,’ she informed Adam. ‘Apparently her mum’s told her it was well overdue, so you’d best do what I’m doing, and leave her to it.’
Adam gave a wry little smile. ‘I’m sure she wouldn’t thank me if I interfered anyway.’
From upstairs, Alice heard the two of them talking together, and it wasn’t long after that when she heard Adam coming up the stairs.
Quickly, she ran to softly close her bedroom door, while not actually clicking the lock.
Adam called out as he walked past her bedroom, ‘Hi, Alice.’
‘Hi.’
Going softly to peer through the chink in the door, she watched him go into his room, which was directly opposite.
She watched as he went to the wardrobe and chose a pair of clean trousers and a jumper.
When he turned round and seemed to look straight at her, she ran quickly to the back of her room, where she sat on the toy box, wondering if he’d seen her peeking.
She bided her time, and when she again heard Adam clattering about in his room, she edged towards the door. Stooping down to peer through the narrow chink, she followed Adam’s every move. She saw him tidy up the clothes he’d taken off, then he was behind the wardrobe door, hauling up his trousers, and now he was slipping on a clean shirt and rolling up the sleeves.
That done, he came nearer to sit on the edge of the bed,
head down, and seemingly faraway in his thoughts.
After what seemed an age, he stood up and, going across the room, he seemed to be reaching down into an area near the wardrobe.
Highly curious, and irritated that she could not see clearly what he was doing, Alice cautiously inched open the chink and watched him return to sit on the bed.
She was excited to notice that he was holding a small, decorated box.
Unaware that Alice was spying on him, Adam held his mother’s box for a while. Just to hold it in his hands was an emotional experience for him.
He was in no hurry to open it. Instead, he ran his fingers over the ornate brass panel on the lid. He thought of his mother and the wonderful, happy times they had enjoyed together; the laughter they’d shared. The small adventures they had enjoyed were unforgettable.
And now, for the umpteenth time, he lived the memories again. In his mind, he could almost touch her. He could see her lovely smile and hear her laughter.
He now recalled the many times he had seen her holding this very box.
For the longest moment, he simply sat there forlorn, his eyes closed while he brought his mother’s face into his mind and heart. And as always, the pain was unbearable.
With aching curiosity and a deal of resentment, Alice watched his every move. Why had she never seen that box, especially when twice before when he was out, she had gone through his things? So, where did he hide it? What was in it, and who did it belong to?
When Adam held the box close to his heart, it took but a moment for her to realise that it must be his mother’s. For one fleeting moment she felt pity for him, but that rare moment of weakness was forgotten as she eagerly watched him open the box and take out what looked to be a long neck chain, which he wound into his hand.
Attached to the chain was a locket, not as flat and small as the one her own mother had, but, oh, it was so pretty. Just now as it emerged from the box, the light caught its brilliance, and the locket seemed to come alive.
Alice was mesmerised.
She saw how Adam caressed the locket in his hands, and she felt his joy. She saw how he pressed it to his face and when she heard him softly crying, she looked away.
In that moment, for whatever reason, Adam instinctively walked across the room and quietly closed his door.
Alice was not best pleased, though in her mind’s eye she saw the bright, shimmering locket still, and knew she would not rest until she had it in her hands.
In his bedroom, unaware that Alice had been snooping on him, Adam quickly replaced the locket and hid the box underneath the deep, wooden skirt of the wardrobe, where he believed it to be safe from prying eyes.
Suddenly, he could hear the telephone ringing downstairs, and then Maureen’s voice calling up: ‘Can somebody please get the phone? I’m changing Harriet’s stinky bottom!’
Adam was there in no time. Grabbing up the receiver, he asked, ‘Hello, who is this?’ Then: ‘Oh, right. Yes, we’re all fine. Maureen’s changing Harriet’s nappy, and you’ll be pleased to know that Alice is upstairs tidying her toy box.’ There was a moment when he just listened, and then: ‘Yes, I will. Yes … see you later.’
Replacing the receiver, he went into Maureen, who had already guessed from the short exchange: ‘That was either Liz or Jim, so is everything all right?’
‘They’ll be about an hour later than expected. Some friends they haven’t seen for a while have just turned up.’
‘That’s OK.’ Maureen was ready for every eventuality. ‘I hadn’t planned on going out anyway.’
With the baby struggling in her arms, she gently pushed the lazy dog aside with the tip of her toe. ‘Shove up, Buster! Harriet wants to play ball.’
She placed the baby into the playpen and watched as she quickly crawled away to get the big, blue ball from the far side. ‘I reckon Harriet’s gonna be a footballer when she grows up.’ Maureen reached down and gave the ball a gentle pat; she laughed out loud when Harriet screamed with delight as she scuttled across the playpen after the ball.
Adam, meanwhile, had gone to make sure he’d locked the garden shed.
Up in Adam’s bedroom, Alice was on her hands and knees, frantically searching for the box. She had just about given up when she spotted the corner of the eiderdown oddly tucked up at the bottom of the bed. Quickly now, she ran her hand beneath the bed but found nothing. Then, she reached under the skirting of the wardrobe and there it was: a square object with raised features on the lid. Yes! It had to be the box.
Delighted, she withdrew it and, quickly locating the silver locket, she plucked it out, closed the lid and slid the box back again. Hurriedly, she went to the door and peeped out. Satisfied that it was safe, she went straight back to her own bedroom.
As Adam ran up the stairs, she was already sliding the locket underneath her mattress.
She almost leaped out of her skin when there came a tap on her door. ‘Alice. You’ve got a bit more time to tidy your toy box.’ As the door was slightly open, Adam poked his head in. ‘Do you need any help?’
‘No, thanks. Oh! Was that my mum on the phone just now?’
‘Yes. She said to tell you and Maureen that they should be back within the hour.’
‘That’s good, because I haven’t really started on my toy box yet.’ This was her moment, just before her parents were due home.
Smiling sweetly, she invited him in. ‘Come and see. Honestly, Mummy makes such a fuss. I think it’s tidy enough already.’
Adam would rather have got on with his own tasks, but thinking to humour her, he came across the room.
When he was almost beside her, Alice calmly opened the lid, deliberately watching Adam for his reaction.
Adam was horrified by what he saw. Lying neatly on top of a mountain of toys, six mutilated dolls lay in a row, each with her hair pulled out by the roots. Their raggedy arms were hanging off, as though they’d been viciously swung round, and their pot faces were busted to a pulp.
Unable to speak for a while, Adam was visibly shaken, then he was gabbling, ‘Alice, what’s happened to them? Who did that?’
‘You did that, Adam!’ Alice was calm. ‘You came into my room when you thought I was asleep and you broke all my dolls. I saw you, but I was frightened in case you hurt me too.’
Adam was shocked, but from her manner and the way she was smiling, he knew the truth. ‘You little monster! You did this yourself, didn’t you?’ He was so shaken he could hardly think straight: ‘Alice! Why did you do this? And why are you blaming me? I would never do such a terrible thing!’
She came back at him, calm and smiling. ‘But you did do it! You thought I was asleep but I wasn’t. I saw you do this, Adam. And when Mummy and Daddy get home, I’ll tell them what you did, and they’ll send you back to that children’s home, where you belong! You don’t belong here with decent people.’
‘Oh, now I see!’ Adam grabbed her by the wrist. ‘I should have known. All your snide little glances; the way you always butt in whenever I get some attention from your parents; and I know why you wouldn’t eat the fish even though it’s your favourite. It was because me and Phil caught it. And now this … busting up your best dolls, so you can blame it on me, and get me sent away. Well, it won’t work! Because you can tell Maureen what a bad thing you’ve done!’ He grabbed hold of her wrist. ‘Come on … tell her right now!’
When he tugged her forward she started to yell and scream at the top of her voice, ‘Help! Maureen, get him off me!’
Alerted by Alice’s frantic cries, Maureen ran up the stairs; she was horrified to see that Adam had Alice by both wrists and was trying to force her downstairs. Greatly distressed, Alice was sobbing as she tried to fight him off.
‘Stop it!’ Grabbing Adam by the arm, Maureen managed to pull him off Alice. ‘What the devil do you think you’re doing?’
Breaking free, Alice clung to her. ‘I know what he did!’ she yelled. ‘That’s why he wants to hurt me … because I saw him do it. He broke all m
y dolls. He did it, Maureen. I saw him.’
‘Sssh.’ Maureen calmed her, before asking Adam, ‘Did you do what she said? I want the truth, Adam.’
Although Adam vehemently denied it, Maureen chose to believe Alice. ‘I can only go by what I see now.’ She pointed to Adam. ‘You were deliberately hurting her, and she’s got the bruises to prove it. What’s wrong with you, Adam? Why would you do that?’
Adam could see that he had little defence and, not for the first time, he felt alone and vulnerable. ‘What’s the point?’ He glanced at Alice, who was nestling up to Maureen; a look in her eyes that told him she would lie through her teeth until everyone saw her as the victim.
It was then that he realised no one, not even Maureen, would believe him against Alice, because she was a part of this family, while he would always be an outsider.
‘I’m waiting, Adam.’ Maureen was insistent. ‘I want to know why you hurt her like that?’
‘I was not hurting her. I was trying to get her to come and tell you the truth, and she began screaming and fighting me.’
Maureen tenderly stroked Alice’s face. ‘That’s not true. I saw you with my own eyes. You were deliberately hurting her. The poor kid was terrified. So don’t you try and lie your way out of it, because I know what I saw.’
‘Well, you saw wrong. I didn’t mean to hurt her, but she was like a crazy thing, kicking and screaming. I promise you, I never touched her dolls. I just wanted her to tell the truth about what she’d done, and how she deliberately put the blame on me.’
He gave a wry little smile. ‘I can see you’ve already made up your mind that I’m a liar, when the truth is, it’s her that’s lying. But if you can’t believe me, then nobody else will.’
He was not surprised to see Alice smile at him from Maureen’s protective embrace.
Deep down, he’d always known Alice hated him. He had even confided in Phil, but being the caring man he was, Phil had tried to dismiss Adam’s fears.
‘You don’t know her,’ Adam told Maureen. ‘She’s worked this all out. She’s never liked me being here. She told me that I should go back to the children’s home, where I belong. She said I don’t belong with decent people. And now, that’s what you think as well. So she’s won and I’m the bad one, and if you can believe the tale she’s told you, they will all believe it.’
The Broken Man (Special Edition) Page 23